Sam and Emily: A Christmas One Shot
by wolfgrrrl
Summary: Sam Uley imprints on Emily Young at the Clearwater's annual Christmas party.


Thanks for stopping by! When I started this story last winter, I wanted to write a light-hearted meet cute between Sam and Emily. Ultimately, I decided to revamp my fanfic into a cute Christmas one-shot. I hope that you all enjoy this little slice of Christmas Cheer from my wolf pack to yours. Please review and let me know if you'd like to read more of my stories.

Happy Holidays!

The anxiety in Emily's stomach grew stronger the closer she got to the Reservation. It felt like hours before she arrived at the Clearwater's house. A gust of cold wind hit her face as she got out of the car. Emily quickly gathered all the gifts and sweets that her mother sent over for the Clearwater's Annual Christmas Party. She struggled up the sidewalk to the porch with both arms full of Christmas treats. Leah spotted her through the window and opened the door to greet her. She embraced Emily in a too tight hug, quickly realizing how much Emily held in her arms. Leah took the cookies Mrs. Young sent over. Emily placed her things on the ground, "I have to run to my car to get my duffle bag out of the trunk. I'll be right back."  
Leah muffled loudly, "Hold on!", with her mouth full of Mrs. Young's famous Christmas cookies, and an extremely adorable look on her face. They laughed, and Emily thought about how good it felt to be back with her cousin. "I'll get Sam to help you."  
"It's okay, it's just one bag, I can get it.", Emily readjusted her winter hat. She rushed outside to get her duffle bag from the trunk. Sam walked down the driveway, while Emily shuffled back up with her too heavy bag. "I heard that you needed some hel…", Sam's voice cut off. They stopped in the middle of the driveway, and in an instant, the energy shifted causing something greater than either of them to change. Emily's heart felt like it was falling into her stomach, and in the middle of that cold December evening, she could feel an internal warmth radiating throughout their bodies tethering them together. Sam and Emily held a stare for a split second, that felt like an eternity, before he spoke. He cleared his throat "Hey, Em,... let me get that for you." Sam awkwardly grabbed the over-stuffed duffle bag off her shoulder. He was careful not to directly touch her. Emily struggled to get out a meek, "Thank you." When she looked up at Sam, all her senses felt like they were finally being utilized entirely. He paused for a moment, but turned away shaking his head gently. He headed back towards the front door scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. Emily hoped that she hadn't stared for too long. Cautiously, she followed behind him. She took a deep breath to regain her composer. Emily's stomach churned at his wonderful warm and woodsy scent, but guilt quickly followed.  
When they got back inside, she took her bag back from Sam. She had to consciously remind herself not to get flustered. The stairs squeaked as she walked up to Leah's room to put her bag down. She stopped to look at herself in Leah's mirror. She put on some lipstick to distract from her full brows and long lashes. Emily took a few deep breaths before joining the Christmas Party.  
Emily gave her uncle Harry a big hug and went to greet the other guests. When she walked into the living room she noticed Leah resting her head on Sam's shoulder, but he quickly shifted his stiff body to put space between them. Sam's eyes widened when he noticed Emily walk into the room. Leah's brows furrowed at the distance, but her eyes softened when she saw her favorite cousin. "Em, come play a board game with us. We'll play teams, you and Seth against me and Sam."  
Emily looked at Sam and back at Leah, and immediately felt flushed. She gave a lame half-hearted excuse then decided to go and help her Aunt Sue in the kitchen. It was a relief to be in her element. She was finally able to really breathe again. Emily rolled cookie dough and tried not to think about Sam. Her uncle walked into the kitchen, embraced his wife and gave Emily a knowing wink. She popped the cookies in the oven and left her Aunt Sue and Uncle Harry. She talked with Chief Swan about his latest case and tried on Seth's silly Christmas hat. No matter where she wandered around the party she couldn't help but feel Sam's presence. He had a silent strength about him that Emily admired, so she tried to keep her distance so that she wouldn't get consumed by him. She could get lost in him so easily she worried.  
Emily eventually sought refuge in the less populated den. She lightly placed the record player needle onto her favorite Christmas vinyl and gently swayed back and forth.  
"Nice choice", Sam smirked, making Emily jump slightly. He couldn't help but wonder why he never noticed how beautiful she was. He tried to push those thoughts out of his mind. She was Leah's cousin and best friend. It was too late for his feelings to waiver. He decided on Leah.  
Emily gave Sam a gentle smile, "Mine too." Every ounce of Sam's large body wanted to ask her to dance so that he could hold her close. Before he could act, Leah joined them and pulled Sam close to her to dance. Emily felt out of place before the music drew more guest into the den. Leah led Sam to dance with Emily then grabbed hold of her looked up at Sam from under her lashes and in that moment time stood still. They swayed gently with more than appropriate amount of space between them. Everyone else felt like blurry movie extras that filled the room with white energy crackled between them until the song came to an end. Leah whipped past them, popping the bubble they blew around themselves. Sam broke eye contact with Emily then looked down and slumped his shoulders. He quickly followed Leah out of the den leaving the room stale and cold with his exit.

Their feeling didn't make sense, but that didn't make them any less real. She felt it and the thought that Leah did too made her want to crawl into a time machine and stay home. Even the hypothetical idea of not seeing Sam made her want to pout. Aunt Sue called her to judge the ugly sweater contest. The longer time dragged on without Leah and Sam made it impossible for Emily to stop wondering when she would see Sam again.

Leah came back without Sam, shortly after Emily finished washing off the cookie platters. Once all the part guest left, the girls decided to go up to Leah's room to catch up. Tension filled the room and the guilt that Emily felt put a strain on the conversation. Leah wasn't sure why she was so upset. She asked Sam to dance with Emily so that she didn't feel lonely, but their chatting felt forced after Sam left. She decided she needed a distraction. Leah started wrapping the last of her gifts on the floor next to the chair Emily was sitting in.

"What did Sam say to you when he helped you with your bag?", Leah asked casually while she kept her eyes fully concentrated on the wrapping paper and her hands.

"He just took my bag, and said hello.", Emily answered, looking up from her book, "Why do you ask?"

Leah answered a little too quickly, "I was just wondering."

"Oh, well that was it.", Emily replied. Her stomach felt agitated.

"He said he was going to come by after he gets out of work. He should be here any minute. You'll be fine by yourself for a while, right?" Leah quickly left the room before Emily could respond.

Emily fell asleep with her book still in hand. She woke up around three o'clock, and Leah still hadn't come back up to her room. She went downstairs to get some water. The lights from the Christmas tree illuminated the room just enough for Emily to see Sam and Leah asleep on the couch. Leah's head was gently resting on Sam's shoulder and her hand loosely clung to the front of his shirt over his chest. In that moment, Emily was envious of her cousin, and hated herself for it. Quietly, she went to turn out the light. Sam heard her gentle steps down the stairs. His body immediately identified his pull towards Emily as she knelt to the TV off.

"Emily?", Sam mumbled while she turned off the TV.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. You should go back to sleep, it is late."

"Actually, I didn't mean to stay. I should get going," her heart's strings pulled. Emily liked having Sam around, even if he wasn't there for her. She shrugged and quietly motioned to walk Sam to the door. Her footsteps were slow and clumsy beside Sam's long and graceful strides.

Sam turned to Emily and "Good night, Em, sorry I didn't get to tell you earlier, but it was good to see you again.", his crooked smile made her cheeks turn pink. Sam gently hugged her with the side of his body, and he hoped that she didn't feel the longing radiating from within him. It was wrong to feel this way about his girlfriend's favorite cousin. Emily's stomach grew warm with the caress of Sam's strong arms.

"Bye, Sam. Be careful getting home. It's really late". Sam let out a gentle chuckle. Emily walked back inside, then quickly hurried to the kitchen. She rushed back out the door and called Sam back to the steps. She handed him a brown paper bag with cookies and her plain scarf. "It's pretty cold tonight, you can use my scarf." Sam couldn't help himself. He craned his neck outward to allow tip-toeing Emily slip the scarf over his head onto his shoulders. They both looked up spotting the mistletoe at the same time. Before his head could stop his body he let his lips gently touch Emily's temple.

"Merry Christmas, Emily"

"Merry Christmas, Sam"

She watched him walk to the end of the driveway with a smirk on his face and a brown paper bag in his hand. He turned around to wave and waited until she went back inside and he heard the bolt lock before he continued home. Everytime the wind picked up Sam's skin would prickle and his heart would flutter, not from the fresh winter air, but from the scent of Emily's favorite scarf around his neck.


End file.
